- AFTER CAMP -

While we believe our ministry is very effective in teaching the Gospel and encouraging campers in their faith, we know that camp is not a standalone event. When campers go home, they need support from their parents and their churches in order to continue their growth.

We encourage parents to quiz their children about their camp experience so you know what to do next. So take your child out for supper, ice cream, or a walk and start asking questions. Notice we didn't suggest take your family out, let this be a special moment for you and your child by taking them out individually. We suggest you start with general questions, then as your son or daughter loosens up, get more and more specific. We have included 11 questions that you might use to get your child talking about their camp experience.

Remember﻿﻿; when your son or daughter arrives home, they will be tired, so you might let them get a good night of sleep and then take them out to breakfast or lunch the next day. Get them away from the TV and the distractions around the house to get them to talk to you about camp.

Camp brings life change, and in turn youth can change the world with the right motivations and the right perspective. We hope you take the time to think through the follow up with your teen and believe in the power of camp.

11 Questions to Ask Your Child After Camp

1. Tell me about your week.This question is designed to just get your son or daughter to talk to you. Your kids will come back from camp full of emotions. In addition, they will have doubts and they will ask themselves questions like:

What just happened?

Can I live up to the commitments I made?

How can I survive apart from the camp culture?

By getting your son or daughter to just talk about camp you can help them work through some of those questions, and you can also pledge your support for whatever God is doing in their lives.

2. What was your favorite part of camp?As a parent, you need to know what things got your kid’s attention, what he or she enjoyed doing and what really excited them. When you know what they really like you can follow up with family activities or find ways to help your kid network with church groups or school clubs that will help them to grow.

3. What was your least favorite part of camp?This is where you can help influence our programs. We want to hear from parents if there are things at camp that are out of order. Your child may provide feedback that other campers are thinking, but unless we hear from you, we don't know what needs to be changed. Your child may say something like, “Wow, I loved camp but the food was so-so.” Or maybe, “My counselor didn't try to get to know me.” Or maybe, “The meetings were too long.”

Before you jump on the bandwagon, ask some more questions. What was bad about the food, or the counselor, or the meetings? If it is just a matter of preference, talk through that with your kid, but if your son or daughter had a bad experience that you think is more significant, please call or email to Lost Timber and let us know. You will never find a perfect camp, but all camps want to make their camp the best it can be.

4. What activities did you enjoy the most?At our camps, we try to have as many different activities as possible so that our counselors can help campers find something that interests them. It is good for you to know what your son or daughter really enjoyed doing. Teens change so fast that sometimes you don’t realize that their interests have changed. By knowing what they really enjoyed at camp, you can plan ways to build on that.

5. What was the schedule like?This is a question you need to keep pursuing. Dig deep – what was your normal day like? What time did you get up? When did you eat breakfast? What did you do between breakfast and lunch? What happened after lunch? Ask enough questions to be able to imagine a day of camp. I think you’ll find that although kids don’t like to be boxed in, they do like structure.

6. Tell me about your counselor.Statistics tell us that campers remember their counselor more than anything at camp, so find out about the counselor. Find out how the counselor related to your kid. Find out what your son or daughter learned from their counselor and what they want to emulate about them.

7. Tell me about the speakers.Remember, most teens make significant decisions at camp, so it would be good for you to know about the speaker, and his/her topics, style and the subjects of the talks.

8. Tell me about the meetings.Camp is built around meetings, and you want to know what they were like. Was your son or daughter excited about the meetings, the music, the skits, etc.? Find out the subjects and ask about the style.

9. Did you hear any talks that were meaningful to you?Now we are starting to get really personal, but keep digging. What was said that struck a chord in your kid’s heart? What connected? What made him or her think about priorities, mission, character or their relationship with God? What inspired them or motivated them? If you can get a glimpse into what stirred them you can follow through with prayer, advice or even a plan.

10. What did you learn at camp that made a significant difference in your life?This question will really show you how God worked in your child's life at camp. You can then take that information and find out ways to continue to develop it through church, service projects, or more camps.

11. Did you make any decisions or changes to your life?Ultimately, the goal of Lost Timber is life-change. We want to be a catalyst for change in your child's life, then when they get home you can continue to nurture that growth.